


The Graduation Present

by dievampiredie



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-02
Updated: 2014-12-02
Packaged: 2018-02-27 20:51:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2706332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dievampiredie/pseuds/dievampiredie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Burt wanted to give his son the perfect gift for graduation, but it was going to take some hard work and the help of a few friends. (Or, the story of how Burt Hummel learned the "Single Ladies" dance)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Graduation Present

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story over a year ago, inspired by something Mimsy posted on Tumblr, and I thought some of my readers over here on AO3 might enjoy it.

It was the middle of May, graduation was just around the corner, and Burt Hummel was approaching full panic mode.

It wasn’t the usual worries that had him in this state. Kurt and Finn’s party had already been planned. The invitations were sent, and Kurt and Carole had taken over planning the food and decorations. He wasn’t even overly concerned about his little boy growing up and leaving the house. Even without receiving his letter from NYADA, Burt was confident that Kurt’s talent and his drive to succeed would take him as far as he wanted to go.

His son was so special, and that was what had Burt stuck. He had no idea what to get Kurt as a graduation present. Sure, he could just hand him some money and be done with it, but that wasn’t personal enough. It needed to be a gift worthy of his son. If New York was in his future, a new car would be pointless. Burt didn’t have the slightest idea where to even begin to look when it came to clothes. Every idea he came up with fell short. He only had one shot at this, and it had to be perfect.

Burt thought back over the past eighteen years. At first, raising Kurt had been the same as it would have been with any other kid. Bottles and baths and bedtime stories. Lizzy had gone out to buy him a milkshake the first time he managed to change a diaper without getting peed on. She taught him the best lullabies to sing little Kurt to sleep.

As a toddler, Kurt was curious and fiercely independent. He always wanted to know “What’s that thing do, Daddy?” and “Why does it to that?” He started dressing himself at three and was meticulous about every article of clothing. He loved learning new words, and music was his favorite thing in the world. Julie Andrews was his idol, and it seemed like the rotation of The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and Cinderella was on a never-ending loop in their living room.

Kurt’s early years in school brought more of the same. Burt did his best to understand his son, but he was often such an enigma. Lizzy got him. Their bond was strengthened by weekly tea parties and discussions of the latest trends in little boys’ fashion. She bought Kurt his first sewing machine and started teaching him to make things. They sang together constantly. The house was always filled with their voices and laughter.

His wife’s death brought an end to the light and laughter in their home for a while. Burt and Kurt walked carefully around one another, unsure how exactly they were supposed to operate without Lizzy around. Kurt’s independence came in handy on the days that Burt struggled to get out of bed and face the world. They learned to take care of each other, and Burt did his best to understand his special little boy.

As time went on, Kurt continued to change. Burt always felt like he was five steps behind, like every time he got something right he got three other things wrong, but Kurt kept going and kept growing.

By Kurt’s sophomore year, Burt spent most days feeling like he was living with a complete stranger. Then, one afternoon, he found his son in the basement, music blaring, dancing around in front of a video camera with two girls, and wearing a unitard. Football, they explained, his boy was going to play football. It was something they would finally have in common, and Burt was elated. It was the moment that changed everything for them, the moment they started walking toward each other, started really understanding each other for the first time. It was what gave Kurt the final push to be honest about who he was, to let Burt tell him how much he loved him no matter what.

Burt knew what his perfect present was going to be, but he was going to need some serious help.

“Carole!” he called into the kitchen. “Honey, do you think Finn has Brittany and Tina’s phone numbers?”

His wife stepped into the room with a curious look on her face. “I’m sure he does, why?”

Burt smiled. “I think I need some dance lessons.”

\- - -

Burt opened the door to let the girls into the house. “Tina, Brittany, how are ya, girls?”

“Hi, Mr. Hummel,” Tina said.

“You ready for this?” Brittany wiggled her eyebrows.

Burt nodded and ushered them into the living room, where all the furniture had been pushed back to make a space big enough for dancing.

“I watched the original video on YouTube a few times, like you asked, but I also dug out the one you kids made.” He pressed play on the DVD player and watched as the younger versions of his son and the two girls in front of him came to life on the screen. “I’m worried I might’ve bitten off more than I can chew with this dance. You girls think you can whip me into shape?”

“Yes,” Brittany nodded eagerly. “But first, we stretch.”

“Stretch?” Burt asked.

Carole smiled at him from where she was sitting on the couch against the wall. “You wouldn’t want to pull a muscle, sweetheart. How would we explain that to Kurt?”

“Exactly,” Brittany said. “So, just follow my lead. Take a deep breath,” she inhaled and raised her arms over her head, pausing until Burt followed. “Now push up on your toes. Good. Stretch nice and tall. Feet flat on the floor, and exhale as you bend forward to touch your toes.”

“Didn’t know I was signing up for a yoga class,” Burt grumbled as he bent forward.

Brittany led him through a series of stretching exercises, interrupted only by Carole cheekily asking him to turn around so she could enjoy the view from the back side. This made the girls giggle, while Burt briefly gaped at her like a fish before pivoting around and wiggling his butt as he reached down to touch his toes again.

“Are you feeling loose and limber?” Tina asked when they’d finished.

“Yes,” Burt nodded. “Bring on the Beyonce.”

“Alright,” Brittany clapped her hands. “We’ve broken the dance down into smaller sections to help you out. Do you want to use the original video or Kurt’s video?”

“Kurt’s. It’ll help me to remember why I’m doing this, I think.”

Tina grabbed the remote. “Let’s watch it one more time, then we’ll get started learning some steps. This time, just let yourself move to the music a little bit.”

Burt nodded and turned his attention to the screen. God, Kurt looked so young. It was hard to believe how much he’d grown over the past couple years, and not just physically. He was a completely different kid now.

When Beyonce started singing about “gloss on my lips, a man on my hips,” Burt let his own hips sway a little to the beat of the song. He wasn’t a completely inept dancer. Lizzy and Kurt and Carole had kept him moving through the years, but damn, did these steps look hard.

“Okay, Mr. H,” Tina said when the video ended. “The most important thing to remember about this dance is the attitude. Beyonce is all about being confident and sassy and not taking anybody’s crap.”

“Exactly,” Brittany said. “So, right hand on your hip, knees loose, left arm out,” she demonstrated the position. “Now, let’s see that sassy hip wiggle.”

The music started and Burt, despite feeling utterly ridiculous, mimicked the hip movements of the dancers in the video.

“You’re doing great,” Tina told him.

“Really pop your hips and your knees,” Brittany said. “Give me sass.”

Burt did his best to focus on the movement of his hips and his knees.

“Great! Now put your hands up!” Tina sang along with the song.

“Perfect, but that was the easy part,” Brittany paused the video. “We’ll do these next couple steps without music a few times first.”

The girls got into position to show him the next sequence. Hip shake to the right, pop the left knee, nod your head, step, dip, hop, and strut in a circle. Right. He could do this.

Accompanied by encouraging cheers from his wife and his two young teachers, Burt ran through the steps until he was confident enough to try them with the music.

“From the top,” Brittany cheered as she started the video again.

Burt shook and sassed his way through the first section of the song, mirroring Kurt’s agile movements on the screen in front of him. He got to the end of the strut and Brittany paused the video again.

“This next part is easy,” Tina assured him.

She wasn’t lying. A couple pivots, some butt shaking accompanied by making big circles with his arms, and they had made it to the chorus. They ran through the full sequence a few times without music, then with the music, and Tina announced that he had earned a break.

Carole brought out a tray of lemonade and cookies from the kitchen, and they all took a few minutes to relax.

“I really appreciate you girls helpin’ me out with this,” Burt said.

Tina smiled at him. “It’s not a problem at all. We think it’s so sweet that you’re doing this for Kurt.”

“Yeah, and it’s really fun to watch you dance,” Brittany said.

“Agreed,” Carole chimed in with a wink at Burt.

Burt swallowed down the last of his lemonade and stood up. “Let’s tackle that chorus, ladies.”

The girls stood up and took their positions. “You’ll like this next part,” Brittany said. “You get to show off your muscles.”

They walked him through the steps: show us your muscles, point to your ring, head toss, sassy hips, sassy head and shoulders, point to the ring again, clap your hands, pop your hip, and smack your butt.

Just as he reached the butt smack on his third run through the steps, they heard the front door open and everyone froze. Kurt was supposed to be spending the day with Blaine. There was no explaining away the state of the living room or Brittany and Tina’s presence if he was home early. The surprise would be completely ruined.

When it was Finn and Rachel who stepped into the room, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Finn looked around, clearly confused as to why all the furniture had been pushed up against the walls and two of his friends from Glee Club were hanging out with his parents.

“What’s going on, guys?” Finn asked.

Carole smiled at him. “Hi, honey. You need to keep all of this a secret. Burt’s rehearsing something for Kurt’s graduation gift.”

“A performance in his honor, oh Mr. Hummel that’s so lovely,” Rachel exclaimed. “I remember the first time my dads did that for me. I was only five, and the memory still brings a tear to my eye.”

“That’s great, kid. I don’t think Kurt’ll be cryin’ with this one, though. Unless it’s from laughin’ too hard.”

Finn tilted his head curiously. “What are you going to sing for him, Burt?”

“Oh no, I’m not singin’,” Burt said.

“He’s dancing!” Brittany exclaimed.

Burt eyed Finn. “Actually, I think you might know this one. Maybe you can help me out too. Hit the music, Tina.”

The song started from the top, and Burt started to shake his hips. “Come on Hudson, I know it’s been a while but you must remember some of it.”

Finn grinned and walked over to stand next to Burt, shaking his hips and using the video to remind him of the steps he’d learned from Kurt back when they were first getting to know each other.

Rachel and Carole shared smiles and giggles on the couch, watching the men they loved dance without inhibition.

When they reached the “whoa oh oh’s” Burt stepped back to watch as Finn and the girls finished the dance. He had one last part to learn, and it looked like it wold be the part that took the most coordination.

“I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to get my arms and my knees to work together like that,” Burt told the girls.

“It’s really not as hard as it looks,” Finn assured him. “You just walk and punch. With attitude. That’s what Kurt told us when we learned it for football.”

“Alright, let’s finish this thing.” Burt stood next to Finn and watched as the girls went through the final steps. Just walk and punch. He could do that easy enough. Face forward, flip his hands around a bit, shake his hips a bit more, and he had officially learned the whole dance.

“You ready to try the whole thing with the music?” Brittany asked.

Burt put his right hand on his hips and his left hand out to the side. “Hit it!”

There were a couple stumbles, but he had the steps down. When the last “whoa oh oh” faded away, he was beaming. “I did it!”

“You did it!” Tina and Brittany shouted in unison.

“You have excellent form, Mr. Hummel. I can see where Kurt gets it from.”

“Thank you, Rachel. You’re too kind.” Burt offered his hand to Carole. “I think you both need to join us for one last run through.”

The six of them shook and shimmied and giggled their way through the number, bumping into each other and the furniture in the small space. Everyone let out a cheer when the song ended.

They put the living room back in order, and Tina and Brittany headed toward the door. “Great job today, Mr. H,” Tina said with a smile.

“Thank you so much. I’ll see you girls next week?” He asked as he opened the door for them.

“Yes. Keep practicing. You have both our numbers if you need any more help,” Tina waved and walked out to her car.

Brittany paused. “You’ve made Beyonce proud today. She’ll be calling you when she goes on tour again, I think.”

“I’ll see if I can find time in my schedule. Thanks again, Brittany. You’re a fantastic teacher.” He patted her on the shoulder and closed the door behind her as she left.

Finn and Rachel headed upstairs to Finn’s room, and Burt collapsed on the couch next to Carole. “I am exhausted.”

“I bet you are,” she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Kurt is going to be so surprised.”

“You think he’ll really like it? He won’t think it’s silly?”

“I think he’ll love it. It’s the perfect gift.” Carole reached down to squeeze his hand. “You’re a pretty amazing father, you know?”

Burt shook his head. “Yeah, well, he’s a pretty amazing kid.”

\- - -

A week later, Burt sat on the edge of the stage in the McKinley High auditorium. He’d been practicing all week whenever Kurt was out of the house, and he’d done a few final run throughs with Tina and Brittany. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to send a message.

To Kurt: Meet me in the auditorium ASAP.


End file.
